Other
disclosures
++
Associated
British
Foods
Annual
Report
and
Accounts
2009
48
Directors’
report
//
Governance
//
Other
disclosures
Business
review
The
Companies
Act
2006
requires
the
Company
to
set
out
in
the
Directors’
report
a
fair
review
of
the
business
of
the
Company
during
the
financial
year
ended
12
September
2009
including
an
analysis
of
the
position
of
the
business
at
the
end
of
the
financial
year
and
a
description
of
the
principal
risks
and
uncertainties
facing
the
Company
(the
‘Business
review’).
The
purpose
of
the
Business
review
is
to
enable
shareholders
to
assess
how
the
directors
have
performed
their
duties
under
section
172
of
the
Companies
Act
2006,
being
the
duty
to
promote
the
success
of
the
Company.
The
information
that
fulfils
the
requirements
of
the
Business
review
can
be
found
in
the
following
sections
of
this
report:
•
Chairman’s
statement
on
pages
4
and
5.
•
Our
group
at
a
glance
on
pages
2
and
3.
•
Operating
review
on
pages
6
to
23,
which
includes
a
review
of
the
external
environment,
key
strategic
aims
and
performance
measures.
•
Financial
review
on
pages
24
and
25.
•
Corporate
responsibility
on
pages
26
and
27.
•
Principal
risks
and
uncertainties
are
described
on
pages
38
to
41.
•
Details
of
the
principal
operating
subsidiaries
are
set
out
on
page
104.
Principal
activities
The
activities
of
the
group
principally
concern
the
processing
and
manufacture
of
food
worldwide
and
textile
retailing
in
the
UK
and
continental
Europe.
Comments
on
the
development
of
the
business
during
the
period
under
review
and
on
the
future
outlook
are
contained
within
the
Chairman’s
statement
on
pages
4
and
5
and
the
Operating
review
on
pages
6
to
23.
The
Company
is
the
holding
company
for
the
Associated
British
Foods
group
(‘the
group’).
Details
of
the
principal
operating
subsidiaries
are
set
out
on
page
104.
The
audited
financial
statements
of
the
group
and
Company
appear
on
pages
54
to
111.
Results
and
dividends
The
consolidated
income
statement
is
on
page
54.
Profit
for
the
financial
year
attributable
to
equity
shareholders
amounted
to
£359m.
The
directors
recommend
a
final
dividend
of
14.1p
per
ordinary
share,
to
be
paid,
if
approved,
on
8
January
2010
which,
together
with
the
interim
dividend
of
6.9p
per
share
paid
in
July,
amounts
to
21.0p
for
the
year.
Dividends
are
detailed
on
page
69.
Research
and
development
Innovative
use
of
existing
and
emerging
technologies
will
continue
to
be
crucial
to
the
successful
development
of
new
products
and
processes
for
the
group.
The
Company
has
a
major
technical
centre
in
the
UK
at
the
Allied
Technical
Centre.
Facilities
also
exist
at
ACH
Food
Companies
in
the
US,
Weston
Technologies
and
AB
Mauri
in
Australia
and
AB
Enzymes
in
Germany.
These
centres
support
the
technical
resources
of
the
trading
divisions
in
the
search
for
new
technology
and
in
monitoring
and
maintaining
high
standards
of
quality
and
food
safety.
Charitable
and
political
donations
Contributions
to
charitable
organisations
by
the
group
during
the
year
totalled
£2.4m
(2008
–
£1.6m).
No
political
donations
were
made
during
the
year.
Financial
instruments
Details
of
the
group’s
use
of
financial
instruments,
together
with
information
on
our
risk
objectives
and
policies
and
our
exposure
to
price,
credit,
liquidity,
cash
flow
and
interest
rate
risks,
can
be
found
in
note
25
on
pages
90
to
102.
Payments
to
suppliers
The
Company
has
no
material
trade
creditors
but
has
a
group
policy
on
payment
of
suppliers
set
out
in
its
Business
Principles
which
states
that
the
group
settles
its
bills
promptly,
being
a
signatory
to
the
Prompt
Payment
Code.
Further
information
concerning
this
Code,
and
copies
of
it,
can
be
found
at
www.promptpaymentcode.org.uk
Employees
Employees
are
the
group’s
most
crucial
resource,
and
it
therefore
abides
by
the
following
principles:
•
Equal
opportunities
–
it
is
committed
to
offering
equal
opportunities
to
all
people
in
their
recruitment,
training,
continuing
employment
and
career
development,
having
regard
for
their
particular
aptitudes
and
abilities.
Full
and
fair
consideration
is
given
to
applicants
with
disabilities
and
every
effort
is
made
to
give
employees
who
become
disabled
whilst
employed
by
the
group
an
opportunity
for
retraining.
It
is
group
policy
that
the
training,
career
development
and
promotion
of
disabled
persons
should,
as
far
as
possible,
be
the
same
as
that
of
other
employees.
•
Health
and
safety
–
health
and
safety
are
considered
as
equal
in
importance
to
that
of
any
other
function
of
the
group
and
its
business
objectives.
The
policy
and
a
full
global
report
is
available
on
the
Company’s
website
at
www.abf.co.uk
Directors’
report
//
Governance
//
Independent
auditors’
report
Independent
auditors’
report
to
the
members
of
Associated
British
Foods
plc
Associated
British
Foods
Annual
Report
and
Accounts
2009
++
53
We
have
audited
the
group
and
parent
company
financial
statements
(‘the
financial
statements’)
of
Associated
British
Foods
plc
for
the
year
ended
12
September
2009
which
comprise
the
consolidated
income
statement,
the
consolidated
and
parent
company
balance
sheets,
the
consolidated
cash
flow
statement,
the
consolidated
statement
of
recognised
income
and
expense,
the
parent
company
reconciliation
of
movements
in
equity
shareholders’
funds
and
the
related
notes.
The
financial
reporting
framework
that
has
been
applied
in
the
preparation
of
the
group
financial
statements
is
applicable
law
and
International
Financial
Reporting
Standards
(IFRSs)
as
adopted
by
the
EU.
The
financial
reporting
framework
that
has
been
applied
in
the
preparation
of
the
parent
company
financial
statements
is
applicable
law
and
UK
Accounting
Standards
(UK
Generally
Accepted
Accounting
Practice).
This
report
is
made
solely
to
the
Company’s
members,
as
a
body,
in
accordance
with
sections
495,
496
and
497
of
the
Companies
Act
2006.
Our
audit
work
has
been
undertaken
so
that
we
might
state
to
the
Company’s
members
those
matters
we
are
required
to
state
to
them
in
an
auditors’
report
and
for
no
other
purpose.
To
the
fullest
extent
permitted
by
law,
we
do
not
accept
or
assume
responsibility
to
anyone
other
than
the
Company
and
the
Company’s
members,
as
a
body,
for
our
audit
work,
for
this
report,
or
for
the
opinions
we
have
formed.
Respective
responsibilities
of
directors
and
auditors
As
explained
more
fully
in
the
Statement
of
directors’
responsibilities
in
respect
of
the
annual
report
and
the
financial
statements
set
out
on
page
52,
the
directors
are
responsible
for
the
preparation
of
the
financial
statements
and
for
being
satisfied
that
they
give
a
true
and
fair
view.
Our
responsibility
is
to
audit
the
financial
statements
in
accordance
with
applicable
law
and
International
Standards
on
Auditing
(UK
and
Ireland).
Those
standards
require
us
to
comply
with
the
Auditing
Practices
Board’s
(APB’s)
Ethical
Standards
for
Auditors.
Scope
of
the
audit
of
the
financial
statements
A
description
of
the
scope
of
an
audit
of
financial
statements
is
provided
on
the
APB’s
website
at
www.frc.org.uk/apb/scope/UKP
Opinion
on
financial
statements
In
our
opinion:
•
the
financial
statements
give
a
true
and
fair
view
of
the
state
of
the
group’s
and
of
the
parent
company’s
affairs
as
at
12
September
2009
and
of
the
group’s
profit
for
the
year
then
ended;
•
the
group
financial
statements
have
been
properly
prepared
in
accordance
with
IFRSs
as
adopted
by
the
EU;
•
the
parent
company
financial
statements
have
been
properly
prepared
in
accordance
with
UK
Generally
Accepted
Accounting
Practice;
and
•
the
financial
statements
have
been
prepared
in
accordance
with
the
requirements
of
the
Companies
Act
2006;
and,
as
regards
the
group
financial
statements,
Article
4
of
the
IAS
Regulation.
Opinion
on
other
matters
prescribed
by
the
Companies
Act
2006
In
our
opinion:
•
the
part
of
the
Remuneration
report
to
be
audited
has
been
properly
prepared
in
accordance
with
the
Companies
Act
2006;
and
•
the
information
given
in
the
Directors’
report
for
the
financial
year
for
which
the
financial
statements
are
prepared
is
consistent
with
the
financial
statements.
Matters
on
which
we
are
required
to
report
by
exception
We
have
nothing
to
report
in
respect
of
the
following:
Under
the
Companies
Act
2006
we
are
required
to
report
to
you
if,
in
our
opinion:
•
adequate
accounting
records
have
not
been
kept
by
the
parent
company,
or
returns
adequate
for
our
audit
have
not
been
received
from
branches
not
visited
by
us;
or
•
the
parent
company
financial
statements
and
the
part
of
the
Remuneration
report
to
be
audited
are
not
in
agreement
with
the
accounting
records
and
returns;
or
•
certain
disclosures
of
directors’
remuneration
specified
by
law
are
not
made;
or
•
we
have
not
received
all
the
information
and
explanations
we
require
for
our
audit.
Under
the
Listing
Rules
we
are
required
to
review:
•
the
directors’
statement,
set
out
on
page
52,
in
relation
to
going
concern;
and
•
the
part
of
the
Corporate
governance
statement
relating
to
the
Company’s
compliance
with
the
nine
provisions
of
the
June
2008
Combined
Code
specified
for
our
review.
Stephen
Oxley
for
and
on
behalf
of
KPMG
Audit
Plc
Chartered
Accountants
Statutory
Auditor
8
Salisbury
Square
London
EC4Y
8BB
3
November
2009